To celebrate the holiday season I'm going to share with you a vegan lebkuchen recipe that is to die for, and so easy to make!

Lebkuchen is a german baked product similar to gingerbread that is traditionally eaten around the Christmas period. It has a soft texture similar to a dense cake but is baked like a biscuit/cookie.

Makes 24 appx

Ingredients

285g plain flour

85g ground almonds

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

A pinch each of ground cloves , grated nutmeg and black pepper

200ml agave nectar

85g non-dairy margarine

Zest of 1 lemon

For the topping:

100g dark chocolate
Up to 50ml agave nectar
Icing sugar to dust

The How To

Tip the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Heat the agave nectar and margarine in a pan over a low heat until the margarine melts, then pour into the flour mixture along with the lemon zest. Mix well until the dough is combined and fairly solid. Cover and leave to cool.

Heat oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4. Using your hands, roll dough into balls, each 3cm wide, then flatten each one slightly into a disk. Divide the biscuits between two baking trays lined with baking paper, leaving room for them to expand. Bake for 15 mins, then cool on a wire rack.

For the topping, heat some water in a pan and place a heat proof dish over the pan. Put the dark chocolate into the heat proof dish and slowly melt it. Once melted, add up to 50ml of agave nectar to achieve a smooth texture. Top each biscuit with the melted chocolate mixture and then leave to cool. Dust with icing sugar for a particularly festive look.

There is one picture in existence of these lebkuchen but, sadly, I don't have it. Hopefully you can trust me that they are delicious without needing to see them!